Business
Budget is ‘critical point’ for Unite’s continued Labour support – Sharon Graham
The upcoming Budget is a “critical point” for whether Unite members choose to disaffiliate from Labour, the union’s leader has said.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham warned last month that workers could turn their backs on the party if they do not change course.
As Labour’s party conference began in Liverpool, she said it was getting “harder and harder to justify” affiliation with Labour and that the “time is getting close” to make a choice.
“My members are scratching their heads and they’re asking, ‘how does a Labour Government allow two oil refineries to shut with absolutely no plan? How have we got a net zero plan that has workers at the end of the queue? Where is the plan for workers? Where is the transition? Where is the money?’,” she told Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips on Sky News.
“And so for my members, whether it’s public sector workers all the way through to defence, are asking ‘What is happening here?’
“Now when that question cannot be answered, when we’re effectively saying ‘look, actually we cannot answer why we’re still affiliated’, then absolutely I think our members will choose to disaffiliate, and that time is getting close. “
Ms Graham was asked how long Sir Keir Starmer has before Unite makes that decision.
“The Budget is an absolutely critical point of us knowing whether direction is going to change,” she said.
She called for a loosening of the fiscal rules Chancellor Rachel Reeves has pledged to stick to.
“Those fiscal rules need to be changed. Other countries are doing it. We should stop dancing around our handbag and do that.
“If that Budget is essentially nothing, it’s insipid, I think we’ve got a real problem our hands, because without the money to make the change, then nothing is going to change.”
Housing Secretary Steve Reed dismissed questions about potentially losing the support of Unite.
Asked if the fiscal rules are more important than keeping the union’s backing, Mr Reed told the Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme on Sky News: “I don’t think Unite will walk.
“There is more money going into Unite members’ pockets, just like there’s more money going to everybody’s pockets, because wages are now rising faster than prices.”
Ms Graham said people feel they are “being kicked” and Labour needs to “help those people up”.
She also called for Labour to “wake up” and “do Labour things”.
The Unite boss said members are not that interested in Labour’s deputy leadership contest.
Amid speculation about a possible leadership challenge from Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, she said there was “no point” changing around the person at the top if policies stay the same.
New Delhi: Tata Motors Limited has announced that its demerger into separate commercial vehicle and passenger vehicle businesses will take effect on October 1. The move comes after receiving approvals from its board, regulators, and the National Company Law Tribunal. As part of the demerger, shareholders will receive one share in the new commercial vehicle company for each fully paid Tata Motors share held on the record date, the company said in a filing to the exchanges.
The record date is pending announcement and will be revealed after the completion of statutory filings. Upon confirmation of the record date, investors will receive one share in the CV and PV companies for each Tata Motors share they own. Shares will be automatically credited to investors’ demat accounts, with voting rights remaining proportionate across both entities. Both companies will set their own dividend policies moving forward.
As part of the demerger, Tata Motors will split into two separate listed entities. The commercial vehicle business arm housed in TML Commercial Vehicles Ltd. (TMLCV) is expected to be renamed to Tata Motors Limited once the demerger is complete.
Tata Motors will rename its existing listed company to Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd., retaining its passenger vehicle and electric vehicle businesses, as well as investments like Jaguar Land Rover.
Girish Wagh, who currently heads Tata Motors’ CV operations, will lead the new commercial vehicle company, while Shailesh Chandra, the current head of the passenger vehicle and electric vehicle divisions, will spearhead the PV-focused company.
Tata Motors announced that the demerger aims to unlock value and enhance corporate efficiency, highlighting the distinct market dynamics, opportunities, and capital requirements of its CV and PV businesses.
Tata Motors first announced plans for a demerger in 2024. The appointed date for accounting and valuation purposes is July 1, 2025, while October 1 marks the legal effective date.
Sir Keir Starmer was repeatedly pressed on whether VAT could be increased in the forthcoming Budget.
The prime minister was asked at least five times by the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg if he would rule out raising VAT, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves expected to have to put up taxes or cut spending in November to meet her own rules on government borrowing.
Speaking ahead of Labour’s party conference in Liverpool, the PM said “the manifesto stands” and that more would be revealed in the Budget.
The leader of a Boston food bank says the need for their service has remained “persistently high” and is appealing for help.
Father David Stevenson, the rector of St Botolph’s Church, also known as Boston Stump, where the food bank is based, said the facility was “a lifeline for people”.
The appeal comes at a time when extra costs associated with heating homes can lead to an increase in people needing help, he said.
Boston Food Bank is part of The Trussell Trust, which runs a network across the UK. The food bank said it had seen record levels of need in the past year.
“People are struggling to afford both food and heating”, Fr Stevenson said.
“That’s a very common experience in Boston, as in lots of other places.”
The food bank said it sees peaks and troughs in numbers throughout the year, but added there had been an overall increase in people needing support in 2025.
“Last week, we reached our 3,000th person for this calendar year…. which included nearly 1,000 children living in poverty,” Fr Stevenson said.
As part of the food bank’s harvest appeal, it asked for donations of non perishable items and things that can be easily made into a meal such as dry pasta, bags of rice, and tinned meals.
Alina used the food bank last year following a referral from Centrepoint Outreach in Boston.
She was new to the area and received help from the facility until financial and living arrangements were put in place.
Alina now volunteers at the food bank once a week.
“I wouldn’t want anyone to feel like I did and be anxious about not being able to eat,” she said.
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